Compressor and top-retainer for corn-harvester.



No. 727,081. Q "PATENTED MAY 5, 1903'. E. W. BURGESS.

COMPRESSOR AND TOP RETAINER FOR CORN HARVESTERS.

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PATENTED MAY 5, 1903.

E. W. BURGESS. COMPRESSOR AND TOP RETAINER FOR CORN HARVESTERS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 9(1902.

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UNITED STATES Patented May 5, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD W. BURGESS, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO INTER- NATIONAL HARVESTER COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORA- TION OF NEW JERSEY.

COMPRESSOR AND TOP-RETAINER FOR CORN-HARVESTERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 727,081, dated May 5, 1903. Application filed June 9, 1902. Serial No. 110,767. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD W. BURGESS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milwaukee,in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Compressors and Top-Retainers for Corn-Harvesters, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

My invention relates to means for holding the tops of the cornstalks upright during the operation of gathering and binding them and to be quickly thrown out of the way when the bundle is discharged,in combination with the mechanism that compresses the bundle; and the objects of the invention are, first, to provide a compressor that will yield according to the size of the bundle being bound in the ordinary manner and when it is desirable that the compressor be released from its operation that such release be quickly attained; second, to connect a tops-retainer to the compressor, so that it will be quickly thrown out ward with the compressor and have an independent rearward movement that is controlled by spring-pressure. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Which Figure 1 is a plan view of the compressor and tops-retainer mechanism and so much of an automatic binder as is thought sufficient to illustrate my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a part of Fig. 1. Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are detail views of parts of the tops-retainer and compressor mechanism. Fig. 6 is a sectional view of part of Fig. 1 along the line A B.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

1 is the binder-frame, with the upright tubular arms 2 and 3. The needle-shaft (not shown) is journaled in arm 2, and the knotter and discharge-arms driving shaft (not shown) is journaled in arms 3, and these shafts may be driven in any of the well-known ways. The gear-wheel 4: is called the cam-wheel or main binder-gear and is secured to the lower end of the knotter-driving shaft. The cam-wheel 4 has the cam-track 5.

Pivoted to the binder-frame 1 is the bellcrank lever 6, and on its short arm is the roller '7, engaging with the cam-track 5, and attached to its long arm is the spring-carrying yoke 8, containing the compressor and trip-springs and operating in a well-known manner.

9 is the compressor-shaft, journaled in the ears 10 and 11 on the upright arm 2. At its lower end is secured the crank 12, into which is hooked one end of the adjusting-link 13, Whose other end is threaded into the sliding nut 14: above the trip-spring 15. On the upper end of the compressor-shaft is secured the arm 16, to which is secured in an adjustable manner the trip and compressor arm 17. The hub 18 of the arm 16 is provided at its upper end with the clutch-tooth 19,and a topsretainer, which has the upright portion 21 and the hooked horizontal portion 22, is journaled therein. The horizontal portion 22 is designed to extend across the stalk passageway at the top of the machine, and the upright portion 21 may be made any desirable length, and any suitable bracket 23 may be used to support the upper end of it. The lower end of the upright portion 21 is journaled in the upper end of the hub 18 on the arm 16 and has the thimble-piece24c secured thereto. The thimble-piece 24 is provided on its lower end with the clutch-tooth 25, that engages with the clutch-tooth 19 on the upper end of the hub 18 on arm 16, as shown in Fig. 3 and by dotted lines in Fig. 2. The upper end of the thimble-piece 24 is provided with ratchet clutch teeth 26, and engaging therewith is the ratchet clutchteeth 27 on the lever end of the loose collar 28, journaled on the upright arm 21. The loose collar 28 is provided with the angular portion 29 and the outwardly-extended hook 30. The hub 18 on the arm 16 is also provided with an outwardly-extended hook 31 and a helical spring 32. The spring has its opposite ends hooked over the hooks 30 and 3i and exerts a yielding torsional force to hold the horizontal arm 22 across the corn passage-way and also a teusional force to hold the parts 21 and 13 in engagement. By means of the angular portion of the collar and a wrench in the hands of the operator the loose collar 28 may be turned to give any desired tension to the spring 32. The arm 22 is yieldingly held extended across the stalk passageway and is allowed a limited independent outward movement relative to the compressorshaft, as will be seen by reference to Figs. 3 and 5, where the teeth 19 and 25 of the parts 18 and 24, respectively, are represented as extending less than half of the circumference of each part, thereby allowing an independent movement to a limited extent of one part relative to the other.

Near the pivotal point of the bell-crank lever 6, on the short arm of the lever, is formed a socket 32, adapted to receive the end of a plunger-bolt 33, the opposite end of which slides through a hole in the binder-frame, as shown in Figs. 1 and 6. -A coiled spring 34 surrounds the plunger-bolt 33 and resting against the collar 35 on said bolt at one end and against the binder-frame at the opposite end exerts its force against the short arm of the lever 6, and when the roller 7 on said arm is released from the control of cam-track 5 on wheel 4 the said spring will quickly throw the compressor-arm 17 away from the bundle being discharged, and the compressor-shaft 9 in its movement will through the clutch parts 19 and 25 on the hub 18 and thimble 24:, respectively, move the arm 22 out of the path of the discharged bundle, and should the compressor-arm be restored to its initial position before the top of the bundle has entirely passed the arm 22 the spring 32 will allow it to yield until the bundle has been discharged, when it will quickly throw it into operative position. This 'has been found to be desirable in this class of machinery.

The action of the compressor while the bundle is being collected and bound is the same as in many forms of grain-binders that are used in a horizontal position. With the compressor shaft standing vertically the weight of the operating parts is so distributed that little or no force is available from that source to turn the shaft in its bearings and it is only turned by the pressure of the bundle as it is being pushed along by the discharge-arms, and anyloose stalks that may be lying against the arm 17 near the shaft 9 are liable to be taken back with the arm as it is being restored to its initial position. By the use of my invention the arm is quickly relieved and thrown back from the bundle and time is given for all stalks to escape that are connected with the bound bundle or being discharged with it.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a tops-retainer and compressor for corn-harvesters, the combination of a compressor-arm operating to close the stalk-passage at its rear, said arm being automatically released to allow the bundles to be discharged, 2. spring operating to move the compressorarm when released,to open said stalk-passage, a compressor-shaft that extends above the binder mechanism and a tops-retainer arm secured thereto.

2. In a corn-harvester the combination of a compressor-shaft, and means for operating it, a tops-retainer connected by a clutch mechanism therewith, said clutch mechanism operating positively to move said tops-retainer in one direction only.

3. In a corn-harvester,the combination of, a compressor-shaft and means for operating it, a tops-retainer connected by means of a clutch mechanism therewith, said clutch mechanism operating positively to move said tops-retainer in one direction, and an independent clutch mechanism that yieldingly operates to move it in the opposite direction.

4. In a corn-harvester, the combination of, a stalk-passage, a compressor-arm extending across the rear of said stalk-passage, a binder mechanism, a compressor shaft extending above the binder mechanism, a tops-retainer pivoted on the extended end of said shaft, a stop that limits the forward movement of said retainer, and a spring that yieldingly holds the retainer against the stop.

5. In a corn-harvester,the combination of, a compressor-shaft and means for operating it, a tops-retainer connected by means of a clutch mechanism therewith, said clutch mechanism operating positively to move said tops-retainer in one direction, and an independent springcoutrolled clutch mechanism operating to move it in the opposite direction.

6. In a corn-harvester, the combination of,a binder mechanism and a stalk-passage, a compressor operating to close the stalk-passage at its rear, a com resser-shaft extending above the binder mechanism, a tops-retainer arm, said arm being pivoted on the extended end of said compressor-shaft, and a spring that yieldingly holds the retainer-arm against backward movement.

7. In acorn -harvester,the combination of, a binder mechanism, a stalk-passage, a compressor operating to close the stalk-passage at its rear, a compressor-shaft, a tops-retainer, having one arm extended across the stalkpassage, above the compressor-arm, and another arm extending in the direction of the compressor-shaft and coupled thereto, said coupling allowing the retainer-arm to turn outward independent of the compressor, and a spring that yieldingly holds the retainer-arm in its forward position.

8. In a corn-harvester, the combination of, a stalk-passage and means for conveying the severed stalks along said passage; a binder mechanism in an upright position in rear of said stalk-passage, a compressor-arm that is automatically operated to close said stalkpassage at its rear, and automatic mechanismto release said arm and a spring operating to move said compressor-arm to open said stalkpassage. 10

In witness whereof I hereto affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ED WARD 'W. BURGESS.

Witnesses: I

FRANK J. DRYBURGH, EARLE J; BRYDEN. 

